Navajo lawmakers considering veto overrides

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) – Navajo lawmakers are scheduled to meet in a special session Tuesday to consider overriding two presidential vetoes.

Lawmakers last month approved a measure by a 67-6 vote to turn over power reserved for the tribe’s attorney general to the legislative counsel.

They also favored a bill that prohibits the tribal courts from using a set of laws based on centuries-old traditional Navajo values and customs. It passed 56-17.

Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. recently vetoed both measures, saying they were politically motivated and would weaken the tribal government.

An override requires 59 votes, or a two-thirds vote of the 88-member Tribal Council.